The fledgling discount grocery chain GHM is being rebranded under the fascia of its parent company Poundland.
The chain currently has six stores, having opened its first site in Hinckley in Leicestershire in June. In a note sent to suppliers last week and seen by The Grocer, GHM Stores trading director Chris Burns said the stores would be converted in the coming weeks and its Leeds head office would be closed.
“When we began our GHM venture, we did so knowing there was a significant opportunity to develop something refreshing and new for customers. We’ve shown that the belief wasn’t misplaced - sales in GHM have been strong and customers enthusiastic about what we’ve been able to bring to their town,” wrote Burns.
“As you know, when GHM was established, Poundland was not part of the group, so there’s now an opportunity to take what we’ve learned forward as part of the wider business. That’s why we’ve been considering a corporate restructure to integrate GHM and Poundland at a group level.”
He added that in future all sourcing and buying would be from Poundland’s head office in Willenhall and that he expected “there will be opportunities for suppliers in the coming months as we integrate the businesses”.
GHM is part of the Steinhoff International-owned Pepkor operation, which was being run by former Asda CEO Andy Bond when it opened last year. However in September, Steinhoff acquired the 75% of Poundland it didn’t already own for £466m and in November announced a centralisation of Pepkor’s UK business into the Poundland operations, with Bond taking the new role of executive chairman.
“I intend to take this opportunity to drive the integration of our other UK businesses into Poundland, making Poundland the clear HQ for our UK operations,” said Bond at the time. “These changes will put Poundland at the centre of all Pepkor operations in both the UK and Europe.”
The company also revealed that it plans to open 50 Pep & Co clothing concessions within some of its larger Poundland stores.
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